Mike Akira Litzau Born in: Birthdate: Last Updated: Tue, May 27, 2008 Personal Contact: Website: http://akirapress.org/
Michael Akira Litzau was born in Milwaukee,Wisconsin September 25, 1981. Always interested in the arts growing uphe moved to Columbus, Ohio to attend Columbus College of Art andDesign. In 2004 he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree inFine Arts with a focus in printmaking. In 2006 he obtained his Masterof Fine Arts degree in Fine Arts, printmaking focus, from The OhioState University. Michael has shown his artwork extensively inColumbus, throughout Ohio and nationally.
Language: letters, words, labels, anddefinitions. All these help me understand the world that I live in andmake it possible for me to communicate to others. Often times wordsfail when I cannot express an idea, feeling, or message accurately toanother person. It would seem that language, which I thought was soexacting and infallible, is full of craters that allow formiscommunication. Representational imagery can be considered the visual"words" that I use in my artwork. The marks that I make form images,which in relationship to other images, create "sentences" to expressstories and ideas. However, just like words, a group of drawn linesthat create representations close off possibilities to see them asbeing anything else. At the same time, these representations open thedoors for communication because of the intense two-dimensional printedway they are constructed. In my artwork, I investigate how imagessimultaneously and accurately describe an idea but in realityphysically, visually, and conceptually offer only the illusion of aaccurate description.
Education:
Master of Fine Arts 2006, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
Studied under Charles Massey Jr.
Bachelor of Fine Arts 2006, Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, Ohio.
Teaching Experience:
2008 Instructor, Beginning Relief printmaking classes, Akira Press, Columbus, Ohio
Lecturer,The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Two-DimensionalArt
Lecturer,Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, Ohio
ColorConcept
Instructor, Beginning Printmaking, Life Long Learning and Leisure, Upper Arlington, Ohio
2007
Lecturer,Beginning Drawing, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Beginning Drawing
Two-Dimensional Art
2006
Instructorof record (GTA), The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
BeginningDrawing
Instructor,Essex School Printmaking Workshop
2005
Instructor,Taiwanese/U.S Exchange, Monotype Workshop
2001-2004
WorkStudy, Printmaking Facilities, Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, Ohio
2000-2003
Volunteer, Saturday Morning Art Classes, ColumbusCollege of Art and Design, Columbus,Ohio.
Related Work Experience:
2008
Founder of Akira Press.
Master Printer, Collection of engravings, etchings, and block plates from the archives of The Ohio State University
2006-Present
Freelancer, ZenGenius Visual Merchants
Exhibitons:
-Systematic Layers, Juried Group Show, Columbus, Ohio
-Couchfire Collective, Group Show, Upper Arlington, Ohio
-Small Works, Invitational Group Show, Delaware, Ohio
-Toys, Invitational Group Show, Indianapolis, Indiana
-Brand 36, Juried Group Show, Glendale, California
- Visiting Artists/New Faculty, Group Show, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
- Agora II, Group Show, Grandview Heights, Ohio
- Boston Printmakers 2007 North American Print Biennial, Juried Group Show, Boston, MA
- Agora Columbus, Group Show, Grandview Heights, Ohio
- One Night: Suite, Group Show, Columbus, Ohio.
- Color Print USA 2006, Invitational Group Show, Lubbock, Texas.
- Edition Variable, Group Show, Columbus, Ohio
- Visiting Artists/New Faculty, Group Show, Columbus, Ohio.
- Ohio Art League-Fall Juried Exhibition, Juried Group Show, Columbus, Ohio.
- Underlying Systems, Two Person show, Columbus, Ohio.
-Artists Proof, Group Show, Mansfield, Ohio.
- Fourteenth Annual Fergus Scholarship Awards Exhibition, Juried Group Show, Columbus, Ohio.
- Deparment of Art Graduate Student Group Exhibition, Group show, Columbus, Ohio.
- Recent Prints, Group show, Columbus, Ohio.
- Department of Art Grauate Student Group Exhibition, Group Show, Columbus, Ohio.
- OSU: Ink, Group Show, Marion, Ohio.
- Editions Through Pixel and Print, Invitational Group Show, Columbus, Ohio.
- Off the Press, Group Show, Newark, Ohio.
2004
- Recent Prints: Ohio State University Printmakers, Group Show, Columbus, Ohio.
- 124th Annual Columbus College of Art and Design Student Exhibition, Group show, Columbus, Ohio.
- Recent Prints: Senior Thesis Show, Solo Show, Columbus, Ohio.
Awards:
- Fergus Material Award, Department of Art, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
- Fergus Family Memorial Scholarship, College of the Arts, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. 2005-2006
-Graduate Teaching Associate, Full Tuition Remission and Stipend, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
2004-2005
- Fellowship, Full Tuition Remission and Stipend, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
2000
- Half Tuition, Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, Ohio.
